The Quest for Gender Equity in Leadership

Biblical Teachings on Gender Equity and Illustrations of Transformation in Africa

Hyun, Chemorion

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781498293341
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The call for gender equity in leadership has become a global concern. From a Christian perspective, all forms of gender prejudice are sinful because they violate God's intention for creating both men and women in God's image. Although many Christian authors have published books and journal articles to address gender-based injustice, very few publications have approached the subject from an African perspective. This book is meant to fill the existing gap. With a specific reference to the African context, this book explores the phenomenon of equity in leadership from various dimensions, such as African culture and traditional religion, church tradition, biblical interpretation, as well as from the perspective of contemporary socio-economic and political realities in Africa. By giving vivid examples of success stories of men and women working together, the authors have demythologized the view that women cannot be leaders. In addition, this book is intended for general readership by Christian men and women throughout the globe. For universities and colleges that teach gender studies as a subject, the book can serve as a class text or reference resource. Seminaries and theological institutions will also find it handy for training and mentoring Christians to promote equity in the church, ministry, business, and family.

Part I

A Survey and Analyses of Gender Equity and Leadership in Africa

Chapter 1

The Cultural Basis of Gender Inequity

An Agikuyu Perspective on Identifying the Root Cause of the Problems in Practicing Biblical Equity

—Sammy Githuku

Introduction

Fifty years after Kenya got her independence, most women have not realized their full potential. They are still being held down by African traditional culture. Article 27 (8) of the Constitution of Kenya requires the government and other institutions to ensure that at least a third of the employees are women.1 Although some significant progress has been made, the goal has yet to be achieved. Affirmative action is meant to remove the gender inequity inherent in many tribal cultures in Kenya and seeks to increase women’s participation in leadership, decision-making, and economic opportunities.

Today, some resilient traditional beliefs and cultural practices still influence the inequity between men and women in many areas of life in Africa. Furthermore, many activities are still inscribed in traditional cultural structures, reinforcing the inequity between the genders and perpetuating traditional models of inequity in economic, legal, and leadership opportunities. Women, for example, are still denied access to property and justice. The aim of this chapter is to illustrate how Agikuyu traditional culture, worldview, and practices prescribe the continual inequity between men and women. Examples are drawn from socially constructed Agikuyu proverbs that have been accepted as tradition and used for years to propagate gender inequity. Let us first define some of the terms used in this chapter.

The term African traditional religion is used here to refer to belief systems peculiar to the Agikuyu, practiced before conversion to Christianity. These beliefs and practices permeated every aspect of individual and community life. The dictionary meaning of the term equity is used in this paper. It is the quality of being fair, unbiased, and just—to both men and women. This involves ensuring that everyone in the community has a fair opportunity to access resources, opportunities, influence, and responsibility indiscriminate of their gender. The term gender is used in this paper to refer to the tasks, responsibilities, conduct, and activities the Agikuyu believe are fitting for men and women respectively. Basically, gender plus biological differences are what distinguish men from women. The following is a synopsis of the Agikuyu people.

The Agikuyu

The Agikuyu is one of the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups living in Kenya.2 The current, administrative Central Province was their original home. Presently, like all other Kenyan communities, they are found in different parts of the country. According to the 2009 census, the Agikuyu are estimated to be 16.9 percent of the national population. Gikuyu is their ethnic language and the name of their first mythological patriarch. Traditionally, the Agikuyu were peasant farmers who also practiced livestock keeping. The tribe is divided into ten mihiriga (clans). Each clan is made up of several mbari (subclans) that are made up several households called nyumba. The head of the nyumba is a man called muthuri (one who discerns). He is the ultimate authority in all family affairs and exercises great power. The wife, as opposed to muthuri, is known by several humbling names; the most common term is mutumia (one who keeps her mouth shut). This is a familiar term used to refer to a wife. Muka or mundu muka is another term, which means, “one who does not belong,” because she is from another family. The wife was also known as mundu wa nja, a general term for the feminine gender. Nja is the Agikuyu word for “outside.” The wife is, therefore, one who does not belong to “the inside.” The literal meaning is “she is an outsider.” The Agikuyu families lived in homesteads with several houses of different family members.

Historically, the Agikuyu did not have a written language. Information was passed on orally through folklore, songs, and proverbs. Through these proverbs, knowledge, instructions, wisdom, philosophy, values, morals, and a justice system were communicated. Through these avenues, the responsibilities of men and women were culturally determined and passed on. Women and girls were restricted to the home and the farmyard. A woman or a girl who broke these traditions was considered to be arrogant and inappropriate. She was ostracized by her group as punishment. According to Kenyatta, ostracism by the community was worse than imprisonment.3 Religious matters, livestock, legal matters, land, and property ownership was, and still is, in the hands of the men. Similarly, a man who did not adhere to these culturally determined responsibilities was ostracized by the community.

The paragraphs below illustrate how the cultural determination of responsibilities leads to inequity between men and women. Both genders are discriminated against, making certain duties and careers off limits. The Agikuyu are a patriarchal society. Some of the stereotypes against men and women are simplistic generalizations and assumptions without evidence. However, the resulting negative consequences have led to serious inequities between men and women. Women, for example, are underrepresented in decision-making forums. Community bias impairs their job performance. Those who step out of their spheres of restriction encounter hostility.

The Agikuyu Proverbs and Gender Equity

Proverbs reflect values, beliefs, experiences, and teachings held by members of a community. These proverbs express the Agikuyu worldview that will change with time. They offer great instructions and pass on community wisdom from one generation to another. However, there are some proverbs that are designed to instill a feeling of superiority in men and boys, while others inculcate in women and girls fear and inferiority. In this paper, in the interest of space, we will limit our study to proverbs that illustrate gender partiality in Agikuyu traditional culture.

One unique...

Table of contents

• Contributors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART I: A Survey and Analyses of Gender Equity and Leadership in Africa
• PART II: Reflections on Biblical Equity and Leadership
• PART III: Transformation in Africa as Gender Equity Is Practiced
• Bibliography